In standard examinations of the eye's vitreous humor and fundus structures, an ophthalmoscope and/or a slit lamp with standard lenses are universally used. However, when a more complete and thorough examination of interesting regions of the fundus is desired, contact lenses are often used. Such lenses help in clarifying uncertain diagnoses and often permit viewing of lateral areas of the fundus that are sometimes inaccessible to direct ophthalmoscopic examination. The most commonly used are known as Goldmann's lenses, after their originator, and comprise a central lens and one or more plane mirrors incorporated into their structure. The mirror surfaces are inclined at various angles to the anterior-posterior axis and permit examination of the lateral fundus surfaces and the angle of the anterior chamber.
The portion of the fundus available for observation (with exclusion of the posterior pole which is examined with the central lens) is dependent upon the angular orientation of the plane mirror surface to the anterior-posterior axis of the eyeball, and it is therefore necessary to supply plane mirrors in several configurations inclined at various angles to the central lens axis. In some versions, a multiple number of mirror surfaces are incorporated into a single lens. However, in all such lenses, the plane mirror is capable of viewing only a limited area of the fundus according to the orientation of the mirror, and the area upon which it is focused. To complete a panorama observation of the fundus, it is therefore necessary to progressively rotate the contact lens through a 360.degree. arc while observing the fundus, and to successively use the other angled mirror surfaces with the same procedure. It will be apparent that such examination is extremely tiresome and time consuming both for the patient and physician.